Jumper
by Amelia-Williams-Pond
Summary: Robin knows a jumper when he sees one. He knows what to say, what to do. But sometimes, it isn't enough. Sometimes, they jump, and sometimes, he can't save them. Bad summary, please read. T 'cause I'm paranoid.


He landed on the snow-covered rooftop lightly, his boots crunching the slightest bit in the muffled noise created by the falling flurry all around him. There was a woman sitting on the edge of the tower, crying. She wore no coat, though it was well below freezing.

"Miss? Miss, are you alright?" he asked, cautiously approaching her. She turned.

"No. I'm- I'm not alright, but I will be."

"Miss, if you stay out here much longer, the cold will kill you," he took off his cape and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Kara."

"What?"

"My name is Kara. Call me Kara."

"Kara. Why are you up here on a night like this?"

"I come here whenever I need to think."

"Kara," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're not up here to think. If you wanted to think, you'd be inside. You're hiding. What's so bad you're willing to risk your life to get away from it?"

"M-My father," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "H-he found out that I'm p-pregnant and… he beat me. I- I don't know what to do. The father d- d- died today in a car accident. I can't raise a b-baby on my own!"

"Congratulations on the baby, Kara, and I'm sorry for your loss. Please, come inside. You don't want your child to get sick."

She nodded and he helped her up. The pregnancy was not yet evident, but it didn't matter as he led her inside, where it was warm.

"There are programs you can go to, you know? Things that help single mothers and their children. You'll be alright, I promise."

She let out a strangled sob. "How c-can everything be alright when the man I love is dead and my family hates me?"

"It can be alright because you're still here. You didn't throw yourself off that ledge, and you have a baby coming. Life is a miracle, Kara. It can show us more than anything else. This baby will make your life harder, yes, but better."

"I just- I can't. I don't know anything about having kids, I-"

"You can learn. Like I said, there's places you can go. Foundations, homes. People want to help you, Kara, you just have to let them know you're there."

"H-how?" her body was racked with sobs. "I c-can't. I can't!"

"Yes, you can. I'll help you."

"N-no one can help me. No one _wants_ to help me. I'm w-worthless."

"That's not true. Kara, you are more valuable than you'll ever know. You know why?"

She shook her head.

"Because you're _alive_. Because you have a child. Because, though there may be other Karas, you are one of a kind. Irreplaceable."

"Why are you trying to help me? Isn't it obvious I'm a lost cause?"

"There's no such thing," he lied, because he had seen many lost causes. She seemed to pick up on the lie.

"Yes, there is! We're in Gotham! The _city_ of lost causes!" She bit her lip.

"You are not a lost cause!"

"I'm better off dead."

"No, Kara, don't talk like that. No one is better off dead."

"We'll see," she said, and threw open the door before he could stop her. She let his cape slip to the ground like the tears slipping down her cheeks, and said "Thank you, for being here. For talking." Then, she jumped.

"No!" he cried, lunging after her, but it was too late. She was lost in the snowfall, shielded from his eyes. It would be useless to rappel down and try to save her. Amidst the sounds of the city, he heard a sickening thud and took a deep breath. The city of lost causes had claimed another.

"What's wrong with you?" Kid Flash asked as Robin sat, silent, in his favorite armchair. Music played in the background, and as he listened, he realized it was _Jumper._

'_I wish you'd step back from that ledge, my friend_.'

"Nothing."

"It's not nothing. You've been sitting there in soaking wet clothes for ten minuets and you haven't said a thing."

_ 'We could, cut ties, with all the lies, that we've been living in."_

"I'm fine. It's nothing."

"What happened?" Artemis asked. "Something bad, right?"

"What makes you say that?"

_ 'And, if you do not want to see me again…'_

"You. You're depressed, or something."

"It's nothing."

"You cannot keep repeating the same thing forever, Robin. If something is troubling you, you should tell us," Kaldur advised.

_ ''I would understand…_'

"We can help," M'Gann added.

Robin sighed. "I watched a woman die today."

Each member of the team sucked in a breath. None of them had ever lost an innocent before, but they were all willing to bet it wasn't the first time that Robin, the youngest among them, had.

"How?" Wally asked, his voice heavy.

"She jumped. Off Gotham Towers. I tried to talk her out of it, but she..." he took a breath. "She didn't believe me." Almost immediately, Wally rushed to skip the rest of the song.

'_I would understa-_'

"Robin, I'm sorry," Artemis began, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault," he said, refraining from pulling away. "If anything, it was mine. I could've done more."

"I am sure you did everything for her," Kaldur said. "Sometimes, people cannot be dissuaded."

"Don't I know it," Robin sighed. He knew how to deal with death; how to deal with death of innocent people. He had lost many innocents. But he always allowed himself one hour, one hour to grieve. An hour to remember, to pity, to _wish_ he could've done something more. An hour to blame himself, and not a minuet more. His hour was almost up.

"Kara," he whispered, so softly that no one but Superboy could hear. Thankfully, the clone said nothing. "I'm sorry."

There. His hour was up. The time to mourn his lost cause was done.

"Are you okay?" M'Gann asked hesitantly.

"Yeah."

Sure, there would be another lost cause, he knew. But until then…

He noticed which song had come on. '_Carry on, my wayward son. There'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don't you cry no more._'


End file.
